


Strange's Plan

by BodhiTree



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Avengers Family, BAMF Stephen Strange, BAMF Tony Stark, F/M, Fix-It, Friendship/Love, Gen, M/M, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-08-14 03:09:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20185261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BodhiTree/pseuds/BodhiTree
Summary: Currently on Temporary Hold.Will Be Back soon with New Chapters!In the middle of the airport fight in Civil War 2016, Dr Stephen Strange appears and changes the entire game.Having had used the Time Stone, Stephen knows the future.Thanos will not know what hit him.The Avengers get back together because they are family.





	1. Stephen arrives

Notes: So I am a big fan of What if's and also God-like characters. So here each and every avenger has peak level of power. So will Thanos (just to even out the field a little bit).

But the Avengers have a big advantage. I just wanted to write a story where everything works out fine and Avengers all win in a satisfying way and more importantly, nobody dies.

I am not a native English speaker so please excuse any mistakes and point them out please :) Will try to update regularly!

* * *

One moment they all hesitated. They were tensed. Muscles taut. Tony's repulsers whirled quietly in the background. They were gauging each other. Who would strike first. Then they ran. Towards each other. Towards their friends.

Anger and ego, amplified with misunderstandings made them see red. Then Rhodey was falling and Tony's heart stopped. He could hear his panicked voice in his ear. He had to get to him. Nothing else mattered. He desperately tried to make his suit go even faster, cursing and wondering why the parachute had malfunctioned.. Then suddenly golden sparks seemed to appear under Rhodey. A giant circle. And Rhodey disappeared into it.

"Rhodey..!" screamed Tony. As Sam and him nearly crashed mid air, Tony frantically flew all over the place looking for him. Then he heard a shout in his ear comm making him wince. "Mr Stark! He is here. He is fine!". The panic rushed out of him making him a little light headed as he saw Rhodey lying near Peter near one of the broken plane wings. Everyone was now running towards Rhodey but Tony got there first. By that time, Peter had managed to remove Rhodey's helmet and Rhodey looked up and gave Tony a shaky smile and Tony collapsed on his metal chest, whispering Thank god.. Slowly they got him out of the suit and Rhodey stood up on slightly shaky legs. The adrenaline was still pumping in full force inside everyone, as each breathed heavily. Now unsure of what to do now.

Then they all heard a baritone voice call out from their far left. "Avengers. I need you to listen to me." There stood a tall man in dark blue robes and billowing red cape. He slowly floated near them and immediately they all aimed at him. He gave a small laugh and said "Well at least you instinctively fight together. That's good." "My name is Doctor Stephen Strange. I am a wielder of the mystic arts. A sorcerer if you will and I need to talk to all of you. Now." He said calmly and authoritatively. The dozen highly dangerous people all aiming their weapons at him did not seem to bother him. Slowly they lowered their weapons and Tony nodded and they all walked inside to one of the more undamaged places. The shock of Rhodey falling and the man's appearance seemed to have made them temporarily forget about their fight. Now they all sat in one of the airport lounges. Everyone was there now, except Steve and Bucky.

Stephen now held everyone's attention and curiosity. He began to speak. "How many of you are aware of the Infinity Stones?" They all gave him confused stares and he nodded. Then he conjured a projection of the universe and there appeared six stones. He stood up and continued "At the dawn of the universe, there was nothing. Then..Boom. The Big Bang sent six elemental crystals... hurtling across the virgin universe. These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of our existence. Space. Reality. Power. Soul. Mind And Time." And he performed a hand gesture which opened the locket he wore revealing a green glowing gem.

They all were now apprehensive. "Vision has the Mind stone on his forehead". This caused everyone to gasp and Vision to sit straighter. Tony's mind was racing. Just who was this guy. "Four years ago, when Loki attacked New York, he did so at the command of another being. A Titan named Thanos". At the mention of Loki, Tony, Clint and Natasha became rigid. "Loki was mind controlled. By the very stone that now sits with Vision. He was a victim just like you Barton. Perhaps even more strongly."

Now he dropped a bomb on them. "Approximately three years from now, Thanos will destroy half of this Universe". Distractedly Tony thought.."Wow this guy does not believe in sugar coating does he..". A chorus of shocked exclamations met him. Tony's heart sped up. "We still have time. We have time to prepare. We have time to destroy him. In fact we have all the time in the Universe now.." at that he couldn't help but give a small smug smile although the complete meaning behind it was lost on everyone. "How do we trust you Doctor..you see due to recent circumstances, my trust is a little shaken." T'challa nodded grimly at that. While Scott and Peter shifted a uncomfortably looking at each other. "Well..I did just save him.." he said looking at Rhodey. And Tony recalled the golden portal. "It was you..I..saw that.. thank you.." He said quietly as Rhodey remembered his cushioned fall. He had not felt any impact. He gave a grateful smile to Stephen.

"Not to downplay what seems to be the most important fight we will ever be in, but we are in middle of a situation here.."Tony said. At his words everyone seemed to come to themselves and the two teams unconsciously moved slightly away from each other. Stephen sighed and said.."We should gather everyone. Where is Captain America, Thor and the Hulk?" And while he spoke, he created a wide portal. They could see the Avengers compound at the background. He gestured them towards it. They all could sense a shift in authority. This man clearly was powerful. His powers were unknown. Without question they crossed through the portal. "We don't know how to contact Thor and Bruce is someplace we do not know." Natasha said worriedly. They were now all sitting in the compound's dining room. Some were pacing. Some were sitting silently. Stephen's cloak had shocked everyone else earlier as it neatly flew off Stephen's back and went exploring. Tony had not once left sight of Stephen. He did not trust him yet. And power radiated from him. He stood silently at the back listening.

Stephen was speaking again.."Does anyone have any DNA samples or any personal objects of Thor or Dr Banner? I can create a portal directly to them, wherever they are." They searched and could find one of Thor's hoodies and Bruce's blood samples down in the lab. Stephen wasted no more time and opened two portals, one to Sakaar and another to Asgard.


	2. Asgard

Prelude

* * *

Stephen Strange was a curious man. He had just defeated Dormammu, got reprimanded by Mordo and now was made the Master of the New York Sanctum and more importantly, keeper of the Time Stone.

In just a week after all those events, Stephen was bored. He was currently flopped gracelessly on his sofa tapping his foot. His favourite melody was playing in the background soothing his agitated bored state. He had no one to talk to here. Earlier that wouldn’t have bothered him. But the new Stephen Strange had grown to recognize human bonds. The cloak was a good company. Stephen loved its hugs. He had made a new friend in Wong, a slightly grumpy sorcerer. But he too was in Kamar-Taj. In that one week, right under Wong’s nose, he had managed to steal all the books and tomes on the Time stone and Time travel. He was itching to do something more.

One day after the week passed, he could not resist and decided to use the time stone. He started experimenting. He planted seeds and using the time stone, made them grow into tall trees in matter of seconds. Giving a pleased hum, he next turned to some broken artifacts. Using the time stone again, he restored them to their previous states.

Growing bolder, and recklessly, he used the Time stone in a meditative state and started seeing the near future. He could concentrate on a subject and see its future. He first practiced seeing for the next few hours, then days, weeks. It was enthralling. Addictive.

The Avengers were in the news again. This time for the Accords. Stephen watched them on his laptop, especially concentrating on Tony Stark as he gave a brief speech regarding the accords. Stephen was very dismissive about the accords as it did not concern him or his world. Instead he saw them more as a damage control measure for the destruction caused due to Ultron and now recently in Lagos. The Avengers were a fascinating bunch. He wished to know more about them.

Eventually he succumbed to his wish and chose a subject for his scrying. The Avengers.

He used them as the focal point and went forward in Time. In two days, Tony would find Peter Parker. In four days, the Airport fight would happen, the loss of Rhodey's legs. Then the moment where everything changed. The fight between Captain America, Iron Man and the Winter Soldier.

Now skipping ahead, he went further and further in time. Bruce Banner falling into the Sanctum, him meeting Tony Stark, Thanos, the Infinity stones, Guardians of the galaxy. The Snap. Trillions dead. The next five years. Tony Stark's death. Natasha Romanoff's death. The after effects. With infinite effort, he wrenched himself back to the present.

He fell down heavily. He was soaked in sweat and felt weak. Dazed and confused. He had lost control and had seen nearly 7 years into the future. He was shuddering. Trillions would die. Earth would be in chaos. The suicides, the crimes. But Avengers had defeated Thanos and brought everyone back. But the damage was done. The Earth would take decades to be normal again. And Stephen knew this without even seeing into the future.

He was surprised to note that he was in awe of the Avengers. His previous dismissive attitude towards them was gone. Here was a self-sacrificing brave group of people, who selflessly put themselves through hell again and again so that they could defend the Earth. Now the Universe. The Guardians of the Galaxy were another interesting bunch. A family.

Stephen lay there on the floor unmoving, but thinking furiously. He had to do something. He now possessed terrible but great knowledge. Knowledge of infinite power which could change the fate of the Universe. It was too much for one human being to bear but he had no choice now.

It was liking playing God. He was the Director of a play and all the Avengers were characters. He used the time stone to practice his magic. He had to become the Sorcerer Supreme few years too soon. He knew he was misusing the time stone and it was against the natural law. But this was literally a universe ending event and if he could not use the time stone now, he might as well chuck it into the garbage disposal.

He knew that changing the course of events would change many things. It was like butterfly effect. But the end would justify the means. If Universe would be saved from this terrible destruction, then Stephen was ready to do anything.

So, he practiced - Healing magic, destructive magic, defensive magic, illusions, dark dimensional energy. He used the Time Stone to buy more time. He spent more than few years practicing, but in reality, it was just few days. He had now advanced through Magic which was beyond Kamar-Taj and that of the earth.

Stephen’s aura changed. It radiated power. He became more serious and grimmer but determined. Without any effort, he could perform magic with just his thoughts.

Now he was ready. He had a plan. And for that the first step would be to get the Avengers involved.

* * *

Present

* * *

They decided to first go through the portal to Asgard and cautiously the avengers walked through. They were near a looming golden palace with gigantic columns and statues. Never had they seen such intricate beauty and architecture. The palace was massive. All were in awe. Even Tony and T’Challa who were used to luxury had never experienced this scale of grandeur. Peter could not believe it. This was the most coolest moment of his life. He was on another planet. In Thor’s planet.

They looked completely out of place as they walked in search of Thor. People noticed them and watched the odd group curiously. But the peace loving Asgardians did not accost them. Then they saw something which made them stop. There was a massive statue of Loki. Dr Strange had said that Loki had been mind controlled. As far as they knew, Loki was dead. He had saved Thor and Jane and sacrificed himself. And that knowledge made them uneasy now and they did not know how to feel. Earlier when Thor had mournfully mentioned the death of his brother, internally they were slightly glad but had felt guilty seeing Thor’s devastated face.

They could hear loud cheers and gasps coming from a place nearby and followed the noise. A play was going on. Many Asgardians were gathered around the stage. The Avengers quietly stood in a corner watching. Fascinated as a blue boy and what had to be Odin’s character on stage. The play ended and then the actors bowed.

Thor had his suspicions about Odin as he lay there eating grapes and was about to approach him, when he spotted them. A dozen or so people stood near the corner. Happiness bloomed in him as he saw them. It was rather funny sight watching the mighty Avengers so nervous.

Thor approached them and he hugged all of them, even lifting Tony off the ground while Tony gave out a giggle. Peter was star struck as Thor hugged him too even though he did not know who he was. He shakily introduced himself and Thor patted him hard on the shoulder. Dr Strange and him watched each other for a moment before they introduced each other. T’Challa too shook Thor’s hand. “Thor we need to speak to you..” Stephen said. “Let’s go in, but first I need to do something. Wait here.” He said and went and approached Odin. They saw their brief exchange and were slightly shocked when Thor threw the hammer, with Odin directly in its way. And they gasped with all others as Loki appeared before them.


	3. Reunions

Note : I realized how hard it is to write so many characters. Hats off to all those writers out there who write stories with multiple characters so flawlessly!

* * *

Thor was internally bursting with joy. He could not believe it. Loki was alive. He had always held a hope. That one day his beloved mischievous brother would appear. He surged towards him and Loki closed his eyes expecting a punch. Thor wanted to punch him. But at the last moment simply swept him in a tight hug. Loki hesitantly bringing his hands around Thor and patting him awkwardly. 

The Avengers stood there slack jawed, some fidgeting nervously. Clint was slightly frozen and held Natasha’s hand tightly. Then much to their protests and urgency, Thor excitedly ushered them into the Palace and ordered his servants to arrange for a feast. Tony looked at Stephen, slightly panicking. But Stephen was calm and that calmed Tony too. If the all knowing wizard was calm, then perhaps they all could indulge in a feast.

It was strange that just a couple of hours ago, they were fighting each other, and now they were sitting there having a feast. Thor had not once asked them the purpose of their visit. Simply happy that, all was going well. His closest friends and brother were back. Loki sat at the edge squished next to Thor, sulking and picking at his food. He could sense two magic users there and his curiosity was piqued. He looked up and saw a girl in red robes and long dark red hair watching him. Yes. She was one of the magic users. How fascinating. He gave her a smirk hoping to scare her off but she did not flinch and held his gaze coolly.

At last they all sat in a large room filled with the softest sofas and chaises. Stephen again took the lead to explain the situation. Thor took it in calmly, thinking. He was always aware of the Infinity Stones and was in the quest of finding them. Loki was stricken when he heard Thanos’s name. When they all looked at him, he hesitantly opened up. He told all of them about his fall into the abyss and getting resurrected and mind controlled by Thanos. Although he didn’t really like the Avengers, finally speaking out the truth felt good. It was a relief. Even Thor had not known the true extent of his torture and mind control. Finally after he spoke, he glared at all of them, as though challenging them to falsify his claim. When no one did, his expression softened, and he huffed and turned away.

Thor gently pulled Loki towards the corner of the room and asked him about Odin and what had he done with him. Loki guiltily told him that he was on Midgard. Although angry, Thor did not press it. He trusted Loki to keep Odin safe. Relatively speaking. And they did have bigger challenge facing them. The thought of involving Odin in their fight against Thanos crossed Thor’s mind, but he did not want to trouble his old father.

Then they chalked out a plan. Tony, Thor, Natasha and Stephen were to go to Sakaar, along with Loki because Thor would not leave him out of sight. The rest of the Avengers were to go to Earth and track down Steve and Bucky and bring them back. Tony was reluctant to leave Peter but reasoned that, it was safer for Peter to be on Earth rather than an unknown planet.

Stephen opened the portal and they stepped out to what looked like a garbage heap. The air was humid and smelled like ash and booze. Only Thor seemed unfazed as he looked around, trying to gauge where they were. Tony could not believe in a span of few hours, he had visited two alien planets. Then came the scavenger people who they quickly fought. Then a small spacecraft landed in front of them to reveal a strong and completely drunk woman who obliterated the last of the scavengers.

……

Valkarie had initially thought she would capture them all, but she was smart enough to know that she would be outnumbered and instead took them to the Grandmaster. Immediately the Grandmaster had taken a shine for Loki and was trying to charm him, fluttering his eyelashes at him and running his fingertips against Loki's arm. Tony and Natasha were clinging to each other laughing helplessly at the situation. Loki was trying to get away from the Grandmaster’s clutches. Meanwhile Thor and Stephen had managed to convince the Grandmaster that they needed to meet the champion. They spun a bullshit tale of how they were from the champion’s planet and needed to speak to him alone regarding some political matter. Valkarie then brought all of them to Hulk quarters. Hulk saw Natasha first and could not believe it. Then a teary eyed Nat called out softly “Hey big guy..Sun’s getting real low..”. And Bruce Banner was standing there in his overly large clothes and beaded necklace. They all swept him up in a tight group hug. Stephen and Valkarie and Loki stood watching. Valkarie had been filled in on the situation, and had been ready and eager to fight Thanos. Bruce could not believe that he was back to his body and was being hugged by his friends who had become his family.

Then Stephen opened a portal to the Avengers compound and they all stepped through.

Steve and Bucky were there waiting for them. And something came over Tony. He did not know what it was. Whether the threat of the Universe being destroyed or the recent adventure they had. But Tony’s anger towards Steve drained out and instead a sense of relief washed over him as he saw Steve. He did not even remember what they were fighting about in the first place. They could do this. They could take down any being, as long as they were together. And to everyone’s surprise, Tony hugged Steve and he hugged him back.

It seemed like Steve was tired too. His body sagged as he held Tony. The others after a moment of shock left them alone to give them their space. Then Steve decided. He had to come clean to Tony. Tell him about his parents’ death. It might destroy their fragile friendship again, but he had to do it before he could find it from someplace else. He did not want to fight with Tony again.

In the Siberian bunker, Steve and Bucky had managed to bring down Zemo and had heard of his plans to destroy the avengers from within. It was a scary thought how close they had come to being broken up completely.

Steve quickly pulled Tony towards one of the training rooms, finally planning to come clean. He only wished Tony would not take this too hard.


	4. Heart and plans

Note : Here is a chapter which explores some feelings. One of the peeves I had with Civil war was that Bucky did not ask Tony's forgiveness. I know he was a victim, but I was waiting for him to ask his forgiveness directly, instead of Steve speaking for him. Let me know what you thought of this chapter.

Again, English is not my first language, and I hope to improve myself by writing more and more. :)

* * *

“Got to tell you Cap.. These past few hours or days, am not even sure, have been _the_ most fun in my life! Not to brag, but I visited two planets..while you froze your ass in Siberia“. Tony was in high spirits as he entered the training room with Steve. “Tony..” Steve started hesitantly. He was about to crash Tony's world. “I have to tell you something. It’s about Howard and Maria..and..Bucky..”. Tony frowned as Steve looked into Tony’s eyes. Tony had never seen him this nervous. “Bucky was brainwashed by Hydra. He was one of their most deadly assassins. Heck even Nat was scared of him.. in December of 1991..he was given a mission..”. Tony’s breath hitched and he started breathing faster.. he knew where this was going.. Meanwhile Steve soldiered on.. “They were killed Tony..it was Bucky.. it wasn’t a car crash..I am sorry.. Tony.. I am so so sorry..” Few tears had slipped through Steve’s eyes, as Tony shakily sat down on the floor with his knees pulled up. He could not believe this. His ears were ringing. He had made peace with his parent’s death a long time ago. But suddenly hearing this, from Steve, it was too much. Steve knelt down and hesitantly touched Tony’s forearm. When he did not flinch, he gripped both his shoulders. Something was making Steve tell Tony everything. “Nat and I found out about two years ago.. we just couldn’t tell you Tony, I .. I did not know how to face you. Bucky was a victim in this too, he was just a weapon Tony, used by Hydra..I am sorry Tony.. I know I am asking the most difficult thing from you, but please forgive Bucky. You can hate me..". Steve finished off brokenly. Tony had put his head down, and was sobbing slightly. Every wound had opened up and he felt raw. His emotions were haywire. He wanted to punch Steve and kill Bucky. But a distant rational part of his brain pleaded with him with reason that they were all victims here.

He looked up and they sat there for a while, both of them looking at each other. Steve had never felt this lost and helpless as he stared at Tony. His brown warm doe eyes were red rimmed. His tears had stopped. Eventually he shifted forward and Tony dropped his head on Steve’s bicep closing his eyes and sighing. It was a roller coaster few days for Tony. And Steve for that matter. Just then, Bucky came in and was watching them fearfully from the doorway. Steve noticed him standing there, and silently gestured him to come near. Bucky nearly ran and collapsed next to them. “Mr Stark..Tony..I..I don’t know how..how to even begin.. I couldn’t control it..any of them..It was like seeing myself from the outside and screaming for them to stop, but them unable to hear you. I knew Howard you know.. I remember everything.. I am sorry .. I am sorry.. please forgive me..I am sorry”. Bucky’s blue eyes were streaming with tears and he was shaking. Tony felt a sense of closure at that moment. It was strange. His earlier fury had ebbed away leaving only sadness. Sadness at his parent’s death. Sadness at the situation. Steve was looking at both of them, half ready to step in, in case things got ugly. Finally Tony stood up slowly and touched Bucky briefly on the shoulder and went out of the room, calling out to Rhodey. Bucky looked at Steve panicked but calmed down when he gave him an assuring nod. 

….

Peter was sent home to Aunt May. Although he did not want to leave Tony. He could sense that Tony was in grief and wanted to do something. But at Tony’s gruff voice ordering him to go home, Peter did leave eventually, already planning to come back.

Tony was in his room looking at his parents’ pictures. A watery smile on his face. He remembered his mother’s hugs, her voice as she sang playing the piano. Her perfume. He remembered his father’s veiled praises and awkward rare hugs. Howard was never a man to pamper his child, having grown with the values that pampering a child would spoil them. Tony’s remembered his father’s proud smiles whenever Tony had showed him his inventions. Tony really wished he had a sibling who could understand his pain right now, but he was also glad that he did not have one, because he did not wish this pain upon anyone.

After many hours, Tony had calmed down and was almost normal. He slipped out of his room quietly and went towards the kitchen. He was hungry and hadn’t eaten in good two days. It was now 3:45 am and Tony hoped no one would be there, but he saw Steve and Nat in the kitchen. Steve was cooking something, Pasta from the looks of it while Nat sat at the table slightly sleepy. It was such a comforting domestic sight to see. Wordlessly Steve laid a plate in front of Tony too, and heaped the cooked pasta in both their plates. They ate in silence, lost in thoughts. Tony spoke..”So..Thanos.. think we can beat him..? He will be _the_ worst villain we would ever face. How on earth can we even hope to defeat him!”. Steve smiled and said, "Well you know what I am going to say right..” and both Tony and Nat completed his sentence “together !”. They all sniggered and Tony felt his heart go light. They had a chance. Tony could feel it. He needed to make new weapons and upgrades ASAP. Stephen had said, they still had time to prepare. But Tony did not wish to drag it out. They were at a huge advantage here and Tony wanted to finish it soon.

\---

Over the next few days, many plans were made. First and foremost, the mind stone had to be extracted from Vision without harming him. T’Challa suggested to take him to Wakanda to his sister Shuri. T’Challa kindly offered to heal Bucky too, to remove his triggers. So Vision, Bucky and on Steve’s insistence Sam too. He wanted to make sure, Bucky would be okay.

Thor and Loki had left to find Odin and to bring back the Tesseract from the vaults of Asgard. The plan was to take Odin back to Asgard and request him to rule Asgard again as its rightful king.

Stephen remembered another important member of the team which had faced Thanos. Carol Danvers. Captain Marvel. He was not sure how to contact her. Or the guardians of the galaxy group. He needed to figure that out. He and Bruce were taking down meticulous notes. Stephen’s perfect memory was a blessing as he recounted every moment of the future he saw. Bruce was just realizing how powerful Stephen was and his ability to literally see the future was truly amazing.

All the remaining avengers, including Scott, came and sat down listening to Stephen speak. Stephen paused and said almost casually..”Oh by the way, Tony, you are going to invent and perfect the way to travel through time”. They all gaped at him as Stephen laughed.

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Note : Thank you for all the Kudos and Bookmarks! Really appreciate it. 


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